Modular 1393

Sound sources generate the signal everything else works on. Analog and digital oscillators produce the basic waveforms, from pure sine to complex wavetables. Drum modules give you kicks, snares and percussion without sampling, synth voices pack a complete synth into one module, and noise and random generators add texture and chance.

Sound processors change a signal once it exists. Filters remove or boost frequencies and give a voice much of its character. Distortion and waveshaping modules add harmonics and grit, and dynamics processors such as compressors and envelope followers control level and punch.

VCAs (voltage-controlled amplifiers) open and close the volume of a sound under control of an envelope or LFO, so notes start and stop. Mixers combine several signals into one, either audio or control voltage. Most systems need more VCAs than first planned.

Delays, reverbs, chorus and flanger modules and multi-effects place your sound in a space without leaving the rack. Because their settings accept CV, effects in modular can be played and modulated like any other part of the patch.

Modulation is what makes a modular patch move. Envelope and function generators shape each note; LFOs create cycles for vibrato, tremolo and filter sweeps. Combining several modulation sources is how patches start to evolve on their own.

Sequencers send pitch and gate patterns to your voices, from classic 8-step designs to complex generative and Euclidean sequencers. Clock and gate modules divide, multiply and shift timing so different parts of the system stay in sync.

Utilities do the small jobs that make patching flexible: attenuators and offsets scale control voltages, switches route signals, multiples and buffers split one signal to several destinations, and logic modules combine gates. A few good utilities make every other module more useful.

Interfaces connect the rack to the outside world: audio and CV interfaces link it to a computer or other gear, output modules bring the level up for headphones and line inputs, and MIDI interfaces translate MIDI notes into CV and gate. Expanders add inputs or functions to a specific module, and performance controllers add touch plates, joysticks and faders.

A case holds the modules and supplies power. Cases come in sizes measured in HP (width) and U (height); powered cases have a power supply built in. You will also find power supplies, rails, blank panels and patch cables here.

Complete systems combine case, power and a selection of modules designed to work together, often with a patch book. They are the quickest way to start, and every module can be swapped or added to later.